God Calls Abram

12 The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land I will show you.

2  I will make you a great nation,

and I will bless you.

I will make you famous,

and you will be a blessing to others.

3  I will bless those who bless you,

and I will place a curse on those who harm you.

And all the people on earth

will be blessed through you.”

4 So Abram left Haran as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. At this time Abram was 75 years old. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and everything they owned, as well as all the servants they had gotten in Haran. They set out from Haran, planning to go to the land of Canaan, and in time they arrived there.

6 Abram traveled through that land as far as the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. The Canaanites were living in the land at that time. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” So Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 Then he traveled from Shechem to the mountain east of Bethel and set up his tent there. Bethel was to the west, and Ai was to the east. There Abram built another altar to the Lord and worshiped him. 9 After this, he traveled on toward southern Canaan.

Abram Goes to Egypt

10 At this time there was not much food in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to live because there was so little food. 11 Just before they arrived in Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know you are a very beautiful woman. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This woman is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but let you live. 13 Tell them you are my sister so that things will go well with me and I may be allowed to live because of you.”

14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was very beautiful. 15 The Egyptian officers saw her and told the king of Egypt how beautiful she was. They took her to the king’s palace, and 16 the king was kind to Abram because he thought Abram was her brother. He gave Abram sheep, cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.

17 But the Lord sent terrible diseases on the king and all the people in his house because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So the king sent for Abram and said, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me Sarai was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’ so that I made her my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and leave!” 20 Then the king commanded his men to make Abram leave Egypt; so Abram and his wife left with everything they owned.